Archbishop tries to defuse abuse remarks row

The archbishop of Westminster last night sought to defuse a row over comments he made about child sex abuse in Ireland's Catholic institutions.

Child safety campaigners were outraged when the Most Rev Vincent Nichols said it took "courage" for religious orders and clergy to "face the facts from their past".

Nichols, who is installed today as the new archbishop of Westminster and replaces Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, made the remarks during an interview with ITV's News at Ten.

He was responding to the release of a 2,600-page report from Ireland's commission to inquire into child abuse that revealed Catholic priests and nuns terrorised thousands of boys and girls in the Irish Republic, while government inspectors failed to stop the continuing beatings, rapes and humiliation.

Nichols said: "It's very distressing and very disturbing. And my heart goes out today, first of all to those people who will find that their stories are now told in public.

"Second, I think of those in religious orders and some of the clergy in Dublin who have to face these facts from their past, which instinctively and quite naturally they'd rather not look at.

"That takes courage. And also we shouldn't forget that this account today will also overshadow all of the good that they also did."

Last night his spokesman told the Guardian: "Archbishop Nichols has unequivocally condemned all abuse.

"He said his heart went out to all those who had been abused, that the perpetrators of abuse should be held to account and, where the offences demand such action, the perpetrators should face legal and police processes."

Child protection groups had earlier condemned Nichols, who has been widely praised in the past for his communication skills and ease with the media.

Speaking before Nichols' spokesman clarified his comments, Michele Elliot, chief executive of the charity Kidscape, said that while she was glad Nichols acknowledged the scandal of paedophilia in the priesthood, she was unhappy that he had tempered the apology. "It is ludicrous. It should be a straightforward mea culpa. It is a moral stance, and he should say that it is all about the children and the rest of them be damned. There are no excuses for religious orders."

The controversy threatens to overshadow today's installation, which will be attended by more than 2,200 guests including Lord Guthrie (representing Prince Charles), Paul Murphy (representing the prime minister), the Duke of Norfolk, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the archbishop of York, John Sentamu, and hundreds of clergy.

A spokesman for the Irish Survivors of Child Abuse organisation also attacked Nichols. Patrick Walsh, a former resident of one of the so-called industrial schools where children were cared for by religious organisations, said: "Rubbish is too kind a word for what the archbishop has said ... It is the verbiage of unreason, and it leaves me cold. What the archbishop really has to do is take a long hard look at the character and nature of the people he is talking about and ask himself if they are capable of being good."

The row echoes one early in O'Connor's administration. When a priest became known to him as a paedophile, instead of telling the police, he moved him to Gatwick airport chaplaincy, where he believed the priest would no longer be a danger, but he was convicted of attacks on children. At the time, O'Connor argued there was little understanding about paedophilia, and survived resignation calls. He was cleared by an inquiry and set up the Nolan commission, which established a more rigorous child protection system.

• This article was amended on 21 May 2008. The original referred to a "2,600-word report". This has been corrected.